One’s livelihood ensures another’s safety: Newly formed women’s group are making masks for Sanitary workers
Marginalized communities are the most affected by the pandemic as it continues to dent their livelihoods and their income. Yet there are stories of communities & people coming together to help those that are most vulnerable and are of dire need. This tiny virus is bringing out the bright spots of Humanity.
Here is a story of how a newly formed women’s group comprising of homemakers who are working tirelessly to supply masks that will be used by sanitary workers – the ones who are at high risk of getting the virus given their role.
The four-member teams of homemakers are based in a slum in Coimbatore District (Vivekanadapuram in Periyanayakanpalayamin, Tamil Nadu) are making cloth masks that are being supplied to the Sanitary workers in the District. The women’s group is part of the network of Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP), a technical support unit to aid the Government of Tamil Nadu in its Tamil Nadu Sanitation Mission.
The group has taken up the tasks of providing one-third of the masks required for an estimated 9970 sanitation workers in Coimbatore district. “Fortunately, I was called to make masks for the sanitation workers. This is my family’s only source of income now.” says Krishnakumari – a woman who is a part of the Yalzh Enterprises for Women set up by TNUSSP.
One-third of the demand is met by the five women from Vivekanandapuram while the rest is supplied by the Indian Yards Quilt Shop based in Nilgiris. Last Forest Enterprise, a social enterprise incubated by Keystone Foundation is helping in marketing the masks.
“Besides the income, it also makes us happy that we are working for a good cause” says T Pushpavathi a homemaker from Viveknandapuram.
TNUSSP functions within Government of Tamil Nadu’s Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department. It also has a Technical Support Unit (TSU) at the state level, with two sub-TSUs each in Coimbatore and Trichy. The TSU is run by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) along with partners Gramalaya, Keystone Foundation and CDD Society.
